Ten Little Hogwartians
by Chopstick Legend
Summary: Is Sirius Black the murder people think he is? Has Hagrid gone homicidal? Has Dumbledore turned evil? Who knows what will happen when ten people get trapped in Hogwarts. Based on Agatha Christie's 'And then there were none'. Warning: Character deaths.
1. Chapter 1

_Disclaimer: __All recognizable characters belong to J.K.Rowling and not me. Tamara Black and Jonathan Black belong to Emerald Bubbles and Romunus and Karri Lupin belong to Heather the Weredingo. I have permission to use these characters in my story. Ann-Marie Lucas belongs to me. Enjoy and please review. I like reviews! _

**Ten little Hogwartians**

Ann-Marie Lucas, Tamara Black and Romunus Lupin were best friends and had just finished their 1st years at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Everyone else had left to go home including the staff leaving the above-mentioned three plus seven other alone in the castle. The other seven were Professor Dumbledore, Madam Pomfry the school nurse and the families of the above mentioned three. Tamara's parents Professor McGonagall and Sirius Black were helping Romunus's father, Remus Lupin tidy up while Ann-Marie's uncle, Hagrid and Tamara's brother, Jonathan, did a last minute check to make sure nobody was hiding anywhere. They finally finished their jobs and met in the foyer. Dumbledore open the door and turning to Ann-Marie said

"Ladies first."

"Thank-you Professor." Ann-Marie answered but as she moved out the door she hit an invisible wall, which effectively threw her onto her back.

"What happened Ann-Marie? Are you alright?" Dumbledore asked looking surprised

"I'm fine." Ann-Marie grumbled getting to her feet and rubbing her posterior "But there is some sort of barrier over the door." Dumbledore stepped forward and extended his hand till it touched the barrier.

"She's right. There is a barrier here preventing us getting out." The headmaster then tried several spells to remove the barrier but they all failed.

"We seem to be trapped." he finally said and Hagrid's stomach let out a gurgle.

"Sorry I missed lunch." Hagrid said looking embarrassed as Ann-Marie laughed

"I'll go and get some food from the kitchen shall I?" she said disappearing down the corridor.

"Lets put our trunks in the staff bedrooms and we will all sleep in them until we figure out a way to get out." Within 10 minutes all the trunks were in the correct bedrooms and everyone returned to the front hall. Ann-Marie turned up a few seconds later with a plate of sandwiches and some strange news.

"The house elves are all gone!" The entire group looked stunned except Hagrid who grabbed a sandwich from the plate. Three bites later the meaning of what his niece had said sunk in and Hagrid also looked stunned. Ann-Marie looked at her uncle and muttered

"Dimwit." She narrowly avoided a swatting as the group all took sandwiches and adjourned to the Great Hall.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter two**

In the Great Hall the four house tables and the staff tables were bare and the hall seemed remarkably quiet. The group of ten sat together at one of the long tables and ate their sandwiches in silence until Tamara got an idea.

"Why don't we send an owl out for help?" she asked

"It's worth a try." Remus answered and Tamara quickly left the room only to return 10 minutes later to announce

"The owls just hit the same barrier that we did. I did however find this on the table just outside the hall." She held up an item. It was a piece of card with writing on it which Tamara read aloud:

_Ten little Indians went out to dine_

_One choked his little self then there was nine_

_Nine little Indians sat up very late_

_One over slept himself then there was eight_

_Eight little Indians traveling in Devon_

_One said he'd stay there, then there was seven_

_Seven little Indians chopping up sticks_

_One chopped himself in halves, then there was six_

_Six little Indians playing with a hive_

_A bumble bee stung one then there was five_

_Five little Indians going in for law_

_One got into chancery then there was four_

_Four little Indians going out to sea_

_A red herring swallowed one then there was three_

_Three little Indians walking in the zoo_

_A big bear hugged one then there was two_

_Two little Indians sitting in the sun_

_One got frizzled up then there was one_

_One little Indian left all alone_

_He went and hanged himself then there was none. _

The group looked at each other.

"What on earth does this mean?" Remus pondered.

"It was probably left behind by one of the other students." Minerva said brushing the item off as unimportant. Several of the others agreed but Remus couldn't help but wonder if this rhyme had been left for a reason. As the group sat in silence Remus pondered to himself

**_But if it has…why?_**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

"Anybody else thirsty?" Tamara asked suddenly, breaking the silence.

"Yes." Romunus answered and after receiving a look from his father added "Please." Minerva, Madam Pomfrey and Professor Dumbledore all acquiesced to this idea and then Ann-Marie spoke up.

"I'll go get them Tam. You just ran to the owlery. Take a break." Tam thanked the ¼ giant girl and Ann-Marie slipped out of the room. She was back 15 minutes later with a tray of goblets and some jugs of pumpkin juice. She poured out the juice into the goblets then everyone grabbed a drink and talk returned to how they were going to get out of the school.

"If the owls can't get out then what hope have we got? We're trapped in here for eternity!" Ann-Marie said getting a bit melodramatic.

"Oh will you just shut up!" Jonathan growled "Some on will come look for us, like Professor Lupin's wife or something."

"That's right." Professor Dumbledore said trying to keep everyone calm and civil.

" And if worst comes to worst there are enough supplies for us to live here until school starts again in September."

There was silence again as everyone took in this possibility but the silence didn't last long as Jonathan suddenly started to choke. Madam Pomfrey and Minerva were next to him in an instant but he collapsed in their arms. Ordering everyone including Minerva back Madam Pomfrey knelt and checked Jonathan over. Within a minute or two she stood and turning to the others with a pale face stated bluntly

"He is dead." Minerva instantly started to cry as did Tam and Sirius looked grief stricken.

"How?" Ann-Marie asked looking shocked. Madam Pomfrey picked up the glass that Jonathan had been drinking out of and examined it before answering

"Poison. Potassium cyanide by the look of it."

"Murder or suicide?" Hagrid's deep voice gently asked. Minerva finally spoke

"He was a happy lad he wouldn't commit suicide."

"He told me yesterday when we were discussing a different matter that he would never commit suicide." Ann-Marie added before realizing that every eye in the room was looking at her. "What?"

"You brought up the drinks from the kitchen. You and only you had time to put cyanide into Jonathans glass."

"I swear I didn't do this! Why would I? I couldn't know who would get which glass I may have poisoned Hagrid or myself! I put the tray down in here and we all got our own drinks so anybody could have poisoned the drink."

"Quite correct Ann-Marie." answered Dumbledore calmly "We all need to stop throwing around accusations without any proof."

"Thank you!" Ann-Marie said exasperatedly.

"My suggestion is for the students to go to bed and Hagrid, could you please place Jonathan on his bed?"

"Yes Professor Dumbledore." Hagrid answered and Dumbledore said

"Since we are all trapped in here I think we should call each other by our first names agreed?"

"Agreed." The room chorused and the students went to bed.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Next morning three people worked together producing breakfast. Romunus, Tamara and Ann-Marie were happy baking pancakes, eggs, bacon and toast. (Romunus did the toast as he effectively tried to burn everything else) Within ½ an hour all was ready and the rest of the group was summoned for breakfast. As the group sat down for breakfast Tamara counted everyone and abruptly said

"Guys, we're a person short! There are only EIGHT people sitting here."

"Remus is the one missing. I'll go and make sure he's awake." Ann-Marie said

"That guy would sleep through a meteor shower." Romunus muttered with a shake of his head

"That's an idea." Ann-Marie said with a cheeky grin as she left the room.

"No way Ann-Marie!" Minerva shouted after her "Don't you dare!"

Ann-Marie had only been gone 10 minutes when a piercing scream rang out through the castle followed by a distinct thud.

"That was Ann-Marie!" Tamara cried and Dumbledore said

"Hagrid, Poppy, come with me. The rest of you stay here." The trio fled the room.

Half an hour later Dumbledore entered the room and said

"Ann-Marie will be alright. Hagrid and Poppy are with her."

"Why did she scream?" Tamara asked

"Romunus, I'm sorry but your father is dead." Professor Dumbledore whispered. Romunus looked shocked for a few minutes before breaking down into tears. He finally stopped sobbing long enough to ask

"How?"

"Murder. It appears he was smothered in his sleep."

"Who would be strong enough to smother a werewolf?" Tamara asked

"Dad's a very deep sleeper so he probably never had the chance to put up a struggle." Romunus said.

"So any of us could have done it?" Tam asked

"Yes." Romunus answered wiping his eyes.

" I just thought of something." Minerva suddenly said "It may just be a flash of blood to the brain but these deaths seem to fit in with the Indian poem Tam found outside the Great hall yesterday."

"True." Dumbledore answered having a think "Jonathan's drink was poisoned so when he dined he choked and Remus was smothered in bed so he over slept."

"We must be on our guard. Somebody appears to be killing us off one by one." Tam said. After clearing up the breakfast dishes the group adjourned to Ann-Marie's room.

Ann-Marie was sitting on her bed hugging Hagrid desperately as everyone else entered the room.

"I'm sorry Romunus." she said on seeing him enter the room.

"Thanks Ann-Marie." he answered sitting on the edge of her bed "Are you alright?" Letting go of Hagrid Ann-Marie answered

"Yes. I guess so, but who keeps killing people and why?"

"I think we would all like to know the answer to that Ann-Marie." Minerva said "Did anybody hear or see anybody wandering around last night?" Tam answered

"I heard either Hagrid or Ann-Marie get up and wander the corridor at around midnight then again at 4am. I don't know which one it was but I know it had to be one of them as I heard them strike their head on the door frame and swear."

"In English or Spanish?"

"The first was in English and the second in Spanish." Tam answered

"Then the first one was Hagrid and the second one was me." Ann-Marie commented dryly. "I went to the bathroom."

"I couldn't sleep so I went for a walk around the castle for a while."

"Was anybody else heard or seen getting up during the night?" Dumbledore asked but got a negative answer.

"We must all be very cautious." Sirius said looking serious " Until we figure out what is going on we must be on our guard. I also suggest a complete search of the castle in case somebody is hiding somewhere in here."

"A good idea." Dumbledore said and quickly split people up into areas to search. So the search began.

**A.N: Please Please Review!**


	5. Chapter 5

_Disclaimer: I own nothing except Ann-Marie._

_A.N: I know this is a very strange story but I have tried my best to make it okay and I would love to know what you all (my readers) think of this story. Please review. Even if it's only to tell me you hate my story. Please!_

**Chapter 5**

The entire school had been search from top to bottom. Nowhere had been left unsearched and an hour before dinner the searchers met in the staff room again.

"I've searched the astronomy tower." Hagrid said

"I've done the divination tower." Ann-Marie said and everyone else quickly stated where they had searched and it was found that the only place unsearched was Gryffindor Tower.

"Wasn't Tam searching up there?" Minerva asked. The entire group realized at the same time that Tam wasn't with them. Like lightning they bolted up to Gryffindor Tower and there they found her. One of the heavy old baths with legs had been taken from the girl's bathroom and dropped on her head. The bath had clearly fallen from up near the roof and the sheer weight of the thing had shattered Tam's skull into a thousand pieces. The strangest part of this murder was the sausage she held in her hand.

"Death would have been instantaneous." Madam Pomfrey said after checking the girl. She then looked at the sausage. "Devon. I think our murderer was trying to keep up with the rhyme." Minerva wept into Sirius's shoulder now having lost both of her children.

"Why? Why my children?" she cried grabbing Sirius's shirt and shaking him. Madam Pomfrey quickly put Minerva into a dreamless sleep and Hagrid tucked her into her bed. He also moved the bath and carried Tamara up to her bed and covered her in a sheet.

"What do we do now?" Hagrid asked entering the staff room where the others waited.

"We have to look at what clues we have to identify the murderer." Romunus said

"What clues do we have? Everyone had the chance to kill Jonathan and Tam."

"Yes but even someone who can sleep through a meteor shower will struggle for breath if that breath is blocked." Dumbledore said "When Remus was smothered he probably inhaled fibers of what ever was used to smother him."

"Let go and check." Sirius said "With Romunus's permission of course."

"Sure. Go for it." Romunus said with a sigh. Together the group trotted upstairs to the room Remus lay in. Clamped between two of Remus's teeth was a tiny piece of white fabric.

"A pillow." Madam Pomfrey said after looking at the cloth. Everyone's pillow was checked for a bite hole and finally it was found. Entering one room Romunus flipped over the pillow to reveal a little hole where somebody had clearly bitten it. Everyone turned to face the owner of the room; Ann-Marie.

"That's not the pillow I slept on last night." Ann-Marie said looking worried "Mine was too soft so I swapped it for that one from the cupboard in the hall." Sirius left the room and reappeared with the pillow from the cupboard.

_A.N: Please Review!_


	6. Chapter 6

_Williams:  Thank-you sooooooo much for reviewing! You've made me sooo happy! I'm glad you like this story._

_A.N. I'm updating again today because I am going away so there will be no more updates till mid to late next week. Sorry. I wil update sometime next week though, I promise! Now on with the story… _

**Chapter 6**

"This pillow is harder then the one on the bed therefore what you just said doesn't fit Ann-Marie." Everyone looked at the girl again and Hagrid said

"Ann-Marie tell the truth."

"I am Uncle!" Ann-Marie cried then finally came up with a new course of action. Drawing her wand she held it out to Professor Dumbledore and said

"If you don't trust me then you may confiscate my wand and lock me up. Then if another person dies you will know the murderer can not be me."

"Does everybody feel this is necessary?" the headmaster asked. He got four nods of agreement then everyone looked at Hagrid who hadn't nodded.

"It seems a bit extreme to me but if that's what Ann-Marie wants done to prove her innocence then so be it." Hagrid said giving Ann-Marie a hug. With a wave of his wand Dumbledore chained Ann-Marie up with chains she couldn't break. The group then moved her downstairs to the Great Hall and placed her on a mat in the corner. After covering her with a blanket the group went off and prepared dinner.

Ann-Marie slept an uncomfortable night away in the Great Hall and was relieved when Minerva entered the room.

"Morning Minerva. Would it be too much to ask for you to sit me upright? It's much more comfortable." She was surprised when Minerva released her from her chains and helped her to her feet.

"What…" Ann-Marie trailed off realising what had happened. In silence she allowed Minerva to lead her to where the others stood in the kitchen.

"Who…" again the ¼ giant girl didn't finish her sentence. She didn't have to. Gently pushing past the others she stood staring in shock at the body of her Headmaster. Dumbledore lay with his head in the fireplace and a carving knife buried up to its handle in his neck.

"Seven little nigger boys chopping up sticks, one chopped himself in halves then there was six." Madam Pomfry said with a sad shake of her head. After several minutes of standing in silence Ann-Marie asked

"How is this possible?" Madam Pomfrey answered

"Everyone forgets that no matter how powerful someone seems, they are still mortal and can be killed by the simplest things." Hagrid reverently picked up the body of the once powerful man and carried him up to his bed. After he had returned the group adjourned to the Great Hall.


	7. Chapter 7

_Williams: Thanks for the reviews. I hope you find the end a surprise. (When I finally get to it of course.) Enjoy the next chapter. _

**Chapter 7**

In the Great Hall the group ate their breakfast while random conversation floated around the room. Once breakfast had ended Minerva started to rise with the intent of clearing the table but promptly fell back into her seat.

"Are you alright Minerva?" Hagrid asked

"I just feel a little dizzy."

"Delayed shock most likely. Just sit still it'll pass soon." Madam Pomfrey said kindly pouring her a fresh cup of tea.

"Thank you Poppy." Minerva said accepting the tea with a weary smile. The rest of the group left the room each carrying a pile of dishes.

Working as a team the group washed, dried and put away the dishes.

A sudden loud crash made everyone spin around in fright. Ann-Marie was frowning at Romunus who had three shattered plates at his feet.

"I told you not to juggle them!" Ann-Marie commented obviously trying to restrain laughter.

"They slipped." Romunus responded before trying to look innocent.

"I'll fix them." Ann-Marie sighed drawing her wand.

The rest of the group headed back out into the Great Hall as Ann-Marie repaired the plates and dried the last dishes.

Minerva hadn't moved from where they had left her. She sat with her head bowed as if in prayer. The group didn't suspect a thing until the bee flew past Sirius's nose.

"Six little nigger boys playing with a hive, a bumblebee stung one then there was five." he whispered pointing at the bee before bolting to the table. Madam Pomfrey joined him and tipping back Minerva's head gasped in horror. Minerva's face was bright red, suffused with blood except for her lips which were blue. He eyes were wide as if with shock and she was very clearly dead.

Sirius didn't move for several seconds then he knelt and kissed his wife's dead hand.

"I'll kill them. Who ever murdered my family, I'll kill them!" Sirius suddenly snarled

"What did my family ever do to deserve this?" Nobody could answer this. Madam Pomfrey checked Minerva over then said

"She's been injected with poison. On a guess I'd say cyanide."

The room stayed silent for several minutes before Sirius locked himself in his room and at the same time Ann-Marie appeared.

"What's going…oh!" She said seeing Minerva's face. Gently she carried the woman up to her bed and covered her with a sheet. When she returned down stairs Madam Pomfrey gently patted her on the elbow and thanked her.

The entire day was spent as one group. Nobody went anywhere alone; except for Sirius who spent the morning in his bedroom then part of the afternoon up in the astronomy tower. Finally at dinnertime Sirius headed for the Great Hall. As he walked towards the stairs he saw three ghostly figures.

"Min? Tam? Jonathan?" he whispered identifying the figures easily. He then froze as he heard one of the figures snarl.

_You were a bad father! _

"No! I tried to be a good father. NO!!!!"

_**Okay, I know a strange chapter end but it will make more sense later. **_

_**Thanks for reading and please REVIEW!**_


	8. Chapter 8

_Sorry, this took so long to update! It must have been a long time, I don't remember when I last updated! Hope you enjoy this chapter and I will endeavour to update more often. Chopstick Legend _

**Chapter 8**

Those in the Great Hall were just finishing dinner when they heard Sirius cry out.

"That's Sirius!" Romunus cried recognising the mans voice. The group bolted up the stairs and found Sirius standing in the middle of the corridor, turning in all directions in a frenzy and all the time crying out.

"NO!!!! I looked after you as best I could. I may not be the perfect father or husband but I tried!"

"Sirius! Calm down!" Madam Pomfrey's yell seemed to break the curse and Sirius stopped moving. Then he looked around blankly and said

"They're gone."

"Who's gone?" Romunus asked and Sirius became aware of the people around him.

"The twins and Min. They were here or at least their ghosts were. They were telling me I was a bad father and husband."

"It was probably your imagination." Madam Pomfrey said kindly as she checked his forehead for fever.

"Where's Hagrid?" Ann-Marie asked suddenly and the four suddenly realised that he wasn't there.

"I'm sure he started to follow us up the stairs." Romunus said with a frown. The group trooped down stairs then stopped. Hagrid lay in a heap on the floor. His long black hair and beard covering most of his face. Madam Pomfrey crept forward and checked his pulse.

"He's dead. Hagrid is dead." Several seconds passed in silence before Sirius asked

"How?"

"It was the killing curse." Madam Pomfrey answered

"No." It was a single simple word that made everyone turn to look at Ann-Marie.

"Hagrid…no...it can't be true…why?...WHY!" Her voice rose from a whisper to an almost bellow. "WHAT DID HE EVER DO TO ANYONE????" She looked around at everyone as if she could tell just by looking who had murdered her uncle. Madam Pomfrey knew she had to do something before things got violent. Hagrid had been Ann-Marie's last living relative since she was orphaned as a baby and she was highly protective of him. She would kill the murderer if she ever found out who it was. As everyone cringed back from the hysterical ¼ giant, Madam Pomfrey stepped forward and said

"It's alright Ann-Marie. We'll get to the bottom of this. Come on, you need to calm down. Here have a drink." She handed Ann-Marie a goblet of dreamless sleep potion. Ann-Marie had started to cry and through her tears she muttered.

"Why did it have to be Hagrid?" She then drained the goblet of potion. A few minutes later the ¼ giant girl was fast asleep on the floor and Madam Pomfrey produced magical stretchers under both her and her uncle. She then took them off to their beds were she covered Hagrid with a couple of sheets.

Downstairs Romunus had found a piece of paper with the word "GOVERNMENT" written on it on the floor where Hagrid's body had been lying. Sirius immediately understood.

"To get into chancery means that a judge would have become a government agent or something of the sort and therefore could no longer be a judge. The murderer was sticking to the poem again."

"The ghosts Sirius saw were some sort of trick to get us out of the room so the murderer could go about his or her horrible deed." Romunus whispered as Madam Pomfrey re-entered the room.

"I'm going to bed." She announced and the others soon agreed.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

Late that night Romunus was awoken by a noise outside his bedroom.

_There's somebody out of bed._ He realised as he came fully awake and dressed hastily. Quickly he opened his bedroom door and looked up and down the corridor. There was nobody in sight. He went along the corridor and knocked on a door.

"Who's that and what do you want?" came a grumpy reply from Sirius.

"It's Romunus. Someone's out of bed. Hang on." He moved to another room and knocked again. There was no reply but the door to the room next door opened and Ann-Marie commented sniffling.

"I hope you don't want a reply from the person in there. That's Tam's room."

"If I do get a reply I'll be worried then but I was actually looking for your room. Somebody is out of their room. Just a tic." Romunus tried one last door then came back to where Sirius and Ann-Marie stood and said

"Madam Pomfrey isn't in her room."

"We'll have to search for her. Ann-Marie, lock yourself in your room and don't open the door unless both Romunus and I come back and tell you it's alright. Understand."

"Yes. Good Luck." The ¼ giant girl quickly entered her room and locked her door securely. Once they were certain that Ann-Marie was safely locked in Sirius and Romunus crept off down stairs. Over the next couple of hours they searched the school from top to bottom, even going as far as to peek at all the corpses to make sure Madam Pomfrey wasn't hiding there. Finally they gave up and went to bed.

The next morning the remaining three ate breakfast and had a think about where Madam Pomfrey could be hiding.

"At least we now know who the murderer is." Ann-Marie commented clearing dishes.

"True." Sirius said "But we won't be safe till we find her."

"Yes. Sirius or Romunus could one of you dry dishes while I wash?" Ann-Marie asked politely as she started running water.

"I'll help." Sirius said

"I'm going to go and see if I can find any Wolfsbane potion in the dungeons. It's a full moon tomorrow night." Romunus commented dryly.

"It's a good thing we are both animagi. If there's no Wolfsbane potion we'll be safe anyway." Sirius said

"Except for Madam Pomfrey." Ann-Marie commented. All conversation stopped at that point as Romunus headed off and the other two cleaned dishes. Once they had finished the dishes Ann-Marie commented.

"Lets go and see how Romunus is going." Sirius suggested. The pair head down the stairs towards the dungeon when they heard a strangled shout.

"That sounded like Romunus!" Ann-Marie gasped before the pair broke into a run. Entering the dungeon they found Romunus. He lay in a large pool of blood with a bear skin rug draped over the top of him. His throat had been slit.

"Three little Indians went to the zoo, a bear hugged one then there was two." Sirius said softly "but that would mean Madam Pomfrey is dead."

"Remember the rhyme. Four little Indians went out to sea, a red herring swallowed one then there was three. Madam Pomfrey probably wants us to think she is dead when she isn't." Ann-Marie said. She turned and left the dungeon no longer able to look at the body of one of her best friends.

Once upstairs Ann-Marie headed for the bathroom planning on having a relaxing bath. Before his death Professor Dumbledore had given everyone the current password for the prefects bathroom so they could wash comfortably. Entering the prefects bathroom Ann-Marie found the bath full of water. A quick test of the water showed her that it was freezing cold so she pulled the plug with the plan of filling it up again with hot water. As the water ran away the bath's secret was revealed. Madam Pomfrey was no longer missing.


	10. Chapter 10

_**A.N: Sorry this chapter took so long. There is a bug going around at work and I have been doing extra shifts. Just the epilogue and answers left now. I apologise for the short chapter but it had to end where it has. Enjoy and don't forget to review! **__**Thanks.** _

**Chapter 10 **

Ann-Marie screamed and within seconds Sirius was in the bathroom with her, calming her down.

"What's the matter?" he asked then spotted the figure in the bath. Madam Pomfrey lay with a large wound to the back of her head. She had clearly been bashed into unconsciousness then drowned in the bath. With more haste then either of them planned they exited the bathroom and magically sealed the door after them. Once in the staffroom the pair calmed then stood stock still staring at each other.

"So that's it Ann-Marie." Sirius asked softly

"There is no one here at all except us." Ann-Marie whispered back in a horse voice.

"This is the end, you understand. We've come to the truth now."

"Yes, I understand." Ann-Marie trembled slightly and Sirius looked grim. The pair stared at each other, with wands aimed at each others hearts, for several minutes. Ann-Marie was leaning on a table and slid one hand behind her back. Sirius didn't see the movement until it was too late. Ann-Marie brought the heavy brass candlestick, she'd grabbed from the table, down on his head with enough force to knock him senseless.

"I shall not be your ninth victim." She whispered dropping the candlestick and magically binding him. "Now where can I put you where you won't escape?" Entering the kitchen she got an idea. The Hogwarts oven was exceptionally large to accommodate the large number of cakes and things that had to be baked. Quickly Ann-Marie removed the shelves from the oven and shoved Sirius inside. After closing the door tight she turned the oven onto high and grinned.

It was over. Ann-Marie was alone at last. Alone with nine dead bodies but alone. It was nice not needing to worry about who might sneak up behind you with a carving knife. It was nice to feel safe. Leaving the kitchen Ann-Marie went upstairs to Hagrid's room. Going over to the bed she pulled back the sheet covering her uncle and told him.

"It's all over." She gave him a kiss on the forehead then covered him again. She then headed down stairs again.

_What should I do now?_ She wondered _Should I look for a way out of here? Have a nap? Have something to eat? _Scratching her head in confusion as she tried to work out what to do Ann-Marie entered the Great Hall and stopped. Hanging in the middle of the room was a noose. On the floor several feet below was a chair.

_That's what the last line of the poem was "He went and hung himself then there was none." I am a murderer. I deserve no less._ Like an automated robot Ann-Marie slowly climbed onto the chair and adjusted the rope around her neck.

_And then there was none._

She kicked away the chair.

_**A.N: So who did it? You'll find out in two chapters but who do you think did it? Review or message me with your answer and we'll see if you are correct. **_

_**Chopstick Legend**_


	11. Epilogue

_Hello everyone! Sorry it has been sooooo long since I updated. I have been caring for three children aka my delightful cousins and I am now sick as a dog but in all honesty I don't really have an excuse for not updating. I'm sorry! Please don't hate me. Now on with the story and please review._

**Epilogue**

"It doesn't make sense Weatherby!" Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge thundered

"No Minister." Percy Weasley answered

"10 people dead in a magically barricaded school and not a living soul in it. It just doesn't make sense."

"Never the less it happened Minister."

"Somebody must have done it!"

"That's our problem Minister."

"Nothing helpful in the doctors report?"

"No Minister. Jonathan and Minerva were poisoned with cyanide. Lupin senior was smothered. Tamara had her head smashed in. Albus Dumbledore and Lupin Junior bled to death from neck wounds. Hagrid was killed with the killing curse. The Lucas girl was hung, the school nurse was drowned and Sirius Black was tied up and cooked in the oven."

"Nasty business all of it. What made the Aurors go out there anyway?"

"Lupin's wife, Karri, got worried when her husband and eldest son didn't come home when school finished so she went to see what was happening. She Floo powdered into the grounds keepers hut and on getting to the school building found a barrier over the door preventing her entry. She immediately came here and reported it. We sent some Aurors out who were able to remove the barricade and you know the rest."

"What else do we know?" The Minister was growing impatient.

"Minerva and the nurse, Madam Pomfrey kept diaries and Black kept some notes too so we know the deaths occurred in this order: Jonathan, Lupin Snr, Tamara, Dumbledore, Minerva, Hagrid. After that Sirius's notes just say two words 'Pomfrey disappeared'. We could presume that Pomfrey killed everyone then committed suicide in the bath but that doesn't work because there was no water in the bath. Somebody had to be alive after the nurses death to remove the water."

"So do you have any ideas Weatherby?"

"Yes Sir, We know that on the morning of the day before they were found Pomfrey had 'disappeared' (Drowned). That leaves us with Lupin Junior, Black and Lucas. Lupin was found in the dungeon with his throat slit, Black was in the oven tied up and Lucas was found hanged in the Great Hall. My first theory was that the Lucas girl killed everyone then hung herself and that works in theory. We found the chair she had stood on, covered in scratch marks but there was one slight problem. The chair wasn't kicked over. Like the rest of the chairs it stood in a stack against the wall so somebody had to be alive after her death to right the chair. Since it would be impossible for Black to tie himself up and turn on the oven from the inside that leaves only the Lupin boy but he was found in the dungeon and the knife used on him was in a drawer in the staff room. Someone had to be alive to move it. Therefore Minister, somebody else must have been in the school and tidied up after all the dirty business was done."

Fudge sighed obviously stressed then said

"But who?"

_Final chapter coming soon! _


	12. Answers

_Manuscript sent to the Ministry of Magic by Professor Dolores Umbridge, new Headmistress of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. _

For many years now I have heard my name connected to many labels. I've been called senile, demented, deranged, an old fool. It was even once decided that I was no longer mentally stable. I was also well known as the only person Voldemort was afraid of. It doesn't make sense does it? Why would Voldemort be scared of a senile old crackpot? Finally I decided I wanted to do something really big. Really amazing. Really evil. You may ask why I would want to kill nine innocent people and myself. Well, I have always been known as a good-guy by some, an enemy by others and a mental case by most. I could feel myself weakening and knew I wouldn't live much longer so I wanted to become the evil mastermind the Ministry of Magic thought I was.

My nine victims were mostly chosen as they, excepting Poppy of course, had family members with them in the school. This meant I got the enjoyment of seeing how they coped with losing their family members. The entire Black family of Minerva, Sirius, Tam and Jonathan were easy to get hanging around as was Hagrid and his only living relative Ann-Marie. I knew if I asked Remus to help me tidy up he and Romunus would both stay. Madam Pomfrey was just a lucky catch. When I put up the barrier I hadn't actually realised she was still there. Chance and luck played a big role in the order in which the victims died too. I 'ladies first' to get Ann-Marie to try and leave before me because I knew the barrier would throw her onto her back and I didn't wish to be thrown myself. It was a lucky dip on who died first as I just dropped a bit of potassium cyanide into one of the glasses when I picked up my own. All I had to do then was wait and see who dropped dead.

I chose Remus as my next victim because he, Tam and Minerva were the three smartest people in the group and I admit I got a bit worried that they would figure out what I was doing. I knew Remus was a deep sleeper but I didn't want to take any risks with him so I put a sleeping drug, chloral hydrate, into the drink he had before he went to bed. The rest was simple sneak across into Remus' room with my pillow and hold it over his face for a while. He didn't wake. I put my holed pillow into the hall cupboard and took the one that had been in there to replace it. I saw Ann-Marie swap her pillow for the one in the cupboard without noticing the hole. She muttered something about her pillow being too soft. I knew the pillow I had was harder then the one with the hole so I swapped it with the one Ann-Marie had just put into the cupboard.

When we decided to split up and search the school I crept up to Gryffindor Tower. Tam died painlessly. She was unaware of the large bath I had levitated over her head until it hit her. The search had proven there was nobody in the school except us seven so suspicion immediately set in. The suspicion increased when Ann-Marie was found to have a hole in her pillow coinciding with the material found in Remus' teeth. She got most upset and in a desperate bid to prove her innocence allowed herself to be chained up.

I faked my own death the next morning. I had been pondering over how I could do this without giving myself away then I came out and found my chance. I found a trick knife obviously brought in by one of the Weasley twins sitting in the kitchen. Its blade retracts if you try to stab something. I used a sticking spell to make the handle with the blade retracted, stick to the back of my neck then I spread dragon's blood all over the floor around me and all over my back and neck. When I lay down in this mess it really looked like I had been stabbed in the neck. Madam Pomfrey didn't bother to check my pulse as it seemed obvious I was dead. Hagrid just wanted to hide all the blood as fast as possible. I have never seen him look so green.

Chance helped me again at breakfast when Minerva suffering from delayed shock came over dizzy and had to stay seated at the table while the rest of us went to the kitchen. I hit her with a sleeping spell as everyone cleared the dishes then once she was half asleep and everyone else was out of the room I quickly injected her with my remaining cyanide then shoved the syringe into the toast that still sat on her plate. When Romunus scraped the toast into the bin the syringe was disposed of too. The bumblebee was somewhat juvenile I admit but it not only kept the murders with the poem, it appealed to my inner child.

Killing Hagrid proved to be a challenge because of his size. He wasn't going to go without a fight and I had no more poison but I came up with a plan.

Sirius shouted loud enough to wake the dead when my ghostly spell produced likenesses of his wife and kids telling him off. When everyone ran upstairs, Hagrid was a fair way behind the others and before he reached the stairs I hit him with the killing curse. He collapsed and died instantly and, quite surprisingly, silently. I then quickly dropped the piece of paper and hid in a corner wrapped in my own invisibility cloak. I watched as the remaining four came down stairs and discovered the body. Ann-Marie went hysterical and had to be put into a dreamless sleep. Once everyone else had gone to bed I started planning my next move.

I was doing some quick planning around 2am when I heard someone coming downstairs. Poppy Pomfrey had come down stairs, apparently because she couldn't sleep. This was a perfect opportunity to work on the next step of my plan. I watched her enter the staffroom and when I followed she was looking out the window. She didn't even realise I was there until the candlestick connected with her head. I didn't want her found immediately and I also discovered that despite the head wound she was still alive so I produced a stretcher under her and took her to the bathroom. I placed her in the bath then filled the bath with water. I added some bubble bath so the foam would hide what was under the water. It was my footsteps Romunus heard on the stairs but I had managed to get back into my room and under the sheet before they saw me. It took great restraint to prevent myself laughing aloud when I heard Romunus knock on Tam's door a few minutes later and Ann-Marie commenting that she hoped he didn't want a response from the person in there. The school was again search and they even checked the corpses but found nothing. I also nearly laughed when Sirius told the person with the best eyesight to stay in her room while he and Romunus searched the school. It was now clear to me that the remaining three were not thinking clearly.

The next morning came with two stressed people and one stressed werewolf who was even more stressed because of the impending full moon. I heard Romunus say he was going to look for wolfsbane potion. I followed him to the dungeons then stunned him. While he was stunned I slit his throat and took his wand. The bearskin rug was like the bee, juvenile but necessary for the poem to fit.

Within three minutes of Romunus being found I heard Ann-Marie's scream which told me Poppy had been found. I now had two people both thinking the other person was a murderer. All that was left was to see what they would do about it. I watched in amazement as Ann-Marie hit Sirius with the same candlestick I had used on Poppy. While she put him into the oven I set up the stage in the Great Hall. I don't think she was aware that she had turned on the oven until it was too late.

Ann-Marie seemed quite content after Sirius's death. Possibly because she thought she was the only one still alive in the school. Boy, was she wrong! When she went into the Great Hall she froze on seeing the noose and chair I had set up. In those few seconds I cast the Imperious curse on her so she would do as I willed.

Ann-Marie Lucas hung herself before my eyes where I stood in a shadowy corner. The last stage of the work was to stack the chair with the rest against the wall. I also collected the knife I had used on Romunus and placed it in a drawer in the staff room.

And now?

Now I will finish writing this document and place it in the secret compartment of my desk drawer.

Why?

It was my ambition to create a murder mystery that no one could solve but like most other artists I can't be satisfied with art alone. There is a natural craving for recognition. I am always presuming the Ministry will never solve this but they may be smarter then they seem and have it all worked out.

There is I think very little left to say.

After putting away my message I will return to my room and lie down on my bed. In my hand will be a real knife I took from Romunus. I will be holding it with a handkerchief and the fake knife I have put under the mattress in Sirius's room just to cause more confusion. I shall then stab myself in the back of the neck and fall back onto the bed.

I shall be found neatly laid out on the bed, covered in a sheet and dead of a stab wound to the neck just like my fellow victims report me to be. Time of death cannot be stated with any accuracy by the time our bodies are examined.

When the new school year starts people will come and they will find 10 dead bodies and an unsolved mystery at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Signed:

_Professor Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore_

**THE END**

_A.N. Well, that's all she wrote folks. I hope you enjoyed this story as much as I enjoyed writing it. Any questions or comments, feel free to message me. _

_Thank-you_

_Chopstick Legend_


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